Family Gathering
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: Pariah Universe. Set after "Re-education of Jocelyn Possible." The Possibles get together to celebrate Christmas in Middleton with their loved ones. The Possible family seems to grow during this holiday when a few new guests show up. KiGo.
1. Together

I don't own these characters; Disney does. Oh, wait, there's a cornucopia of OCs in this one. I do own the following: Trin, Shin, and Tatsu. The other OCs will appear in the next chapter.

A/N: Hi, this is just a little trip back into the Pariah Universe. There's no real plot, just a little holiday celebrating. I hope you enjoy.

Family Gathering

1: Together

Peace and serenity filled the apartment that Shego and Kim lived in. Shego felt pretty about herself, holding an early Christmas present in her hand and lounging on the comfortable, black leather couch. Emerald eyes focused on the gift as a smile played on her lips. Lightly, she fingered the present as she settled deeper onto the sofa.

She was waiting for Kim to come in to spring her gift on the redhead. Waving the gift around, she imagined Kim's reaction. In her head, the reaction involved loads of hot kisses and clothes tearing. A little action on the floor or sofa suited her just as well too. She could only hope that the reality of things were close to what she imagined.

Soon, she would find out how things were going to go because she heard Kim's keys in the door. Shoving her present into a nearby book, she grabbed a magazine and tried her best to appear nonchalant. When Kim entered the living room, she almost walked by Shego, who did not notice that she was "reading" her magazine upside down.

"Hey, Princess," the older woman said with a bright smile, causing Kim to jump in surprise.

"Shego!" Kim yelped, turning her attention to her girlfriend. "What are you doing here?" she asked, sounding almost confused.

"I live here last I checked," Shego remarked, still smiling rather big.

"You know what I mean!" Kim replied, a blush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks just a little.

"Of course I do, but instead of asking silly questions, why don't you give me a real nice greeting, huh?" Shego proposed, finally sporting a smirk to help things seem normal.

Kim blushed a bit deeper, feeling even more sheepish about how she entered the apartment. She knew that she should have been happy to see Shego as soon as she entered their home and she should have expressed that, she mentally admonished herself. She had just been so stunned that Shego as in their apartment instead of down the hall, getting on her sister's nerves in some manner.

Sliding her shoulder bag onto the floor, the college student moved over to Shego and leaned down for a delayed show of affection, kissing Shego soundly. Although it was only a few seconds long, it got an elated moan out of both women. As Kim tried to pull away, Shego grabbed her around the waist and yanked her onto the sofa. Kim yowled for the second time in less than five minutes.

"Shego!" Kim complained as she fell against her lover.

"What? You're acting like you don't want to be close to me," Shego commented as she held Kim to her.

"Of course I want to be close to you, but I did just come from outside. I'm going to get your clothes all messed up and you'll get dirty," Kim pointed out. She had been out in the elements while Shego was still in house clothes, indicating that she had not been out all day.

"So you're a little damp. If I have my way, you'll be way more moist than this," the pale woman quipped with a suggestive smirk, pawing at Kim in a rather exaggerated manner.

The hero giggled, mostly because Shego was partly tickling her. "You're incorrigible!" she cried, trying her best to pull away, but the older woman had her in her clutches.

"I know I am and you love me this way. Is it still snowing outside?" Shego asked curiously as she ceased tickling her lover. Kim adjusted her body, so that she rested more comfortably against the former villain.

"Yeah, it's lighter now than when I left. Did you go out in it?"

Emerald eyes rolled and there was a loud snort before the verbal reply. "Of course not! I've been inside all day on this couch, drinking hot cocoa."

A light, happy chuckle escaped the redhead. "Somehow, I don't see it. Now, do you think you could let me up? I'd like to get into some dry clothes and then I promise I will come back and badger you with questions, like why are you here," she stated.

"Well, that's a pretty deep question, Kimmie. Why are any of us here?" Shego teased.

Kim stuck her tongue out at Shego as she stood up. The gesture earned her a light slap on the butt. She did not say anything and disappeared into the back of the apartment. Shego yawned and went back to her magazine, finally seeing that she did not have it turned the right way.

"I wonder if she noticed," Shego grumbled. She was willing to bet that Kim had noticed, but did not say anything about it for whatever reason. It did not matter anyway since she would be showing Kim her gift when the petite redhead came back into the living room.

Returning the magazine to its place on the coffee table, the green-skinned woman eased back on the sofa and waited for Kim to come back. Her thoughts drifted back to her gift and she eyed the book that she hid the present in. A smile curled onto her face as she got lost in the fantasy of how Kim would react to the gift. The redhead returned shortly and curled into Shego's body, taking the older woman's mind from her fantasy and back to reality very quickly. Shego welcomed the weight against her and wrapped her arms around Kim, cuddling against the smaller frame.

"This feels so nice after coming in from the cold," the petite hero muttered, putting her arms around her girlfriend.

"I should've made you some hot cocoa too," Shego realized. She had been too busy thinking about giving out her early present more than anything else, though.

Kim shook her head. "No, this is fine. I've already had more than my fair share of hot chocolate today anyway."

Shego made a noise, but decided to just revel in their closeness for a moment. Stroking Kim's hair, Shego thought about how contented she was with her life for the moment. She had been with Kim for almost a year and a half and without Drakken for just as long. She was without her typical reckless freedom for just as long too. Yet, she was quite happy with things. A little bored, but she would not wish for a different set up.

"So, what did you do all day?" Kim inquired curiously.

"Funny you should ask that," Shego replied, leaning forward to retrieve her gift. She snatched up the two small, thin pieces of paper. "I planned an early Christmas surprise for you." She held the gift up for Kim to see.

A peach-colored forehead wrinkled. "What are these?" the younger woman asked as she took the pair of what appeared to be tickets from Shego.

"Nothing much, just a winter cruise for you and me," the former thief declared with a proud grin. She then waited to be showered in kisses…kisses that never came.

"A cruise? For when?" Kim continued to ask questions, sounding a little confused by things as she examined the tickets closely. She could see when they were for, but could not believe it.

"It's a Christmas cruise," Shego pointed out, finger on the date printed right on the ticket.

"A Christmas cruise?" Again, Kim sounded baffled, as if she did not understand what she was being told.

Shego snorted and laughed. "Yes! Is there an echo in here or is it just my redhead parrot? So, what do you think?" she inquired, resting her head against Kim's shoulder and smiling brilliantly.

"Um…sweetheart, this is a really great gift…" Kim's voice said otherwise, though.

"I sense a 'but' coming and not the good kind either," Shego said, hand straying down to Kim's rear, if only to keep herself occupied, so that she did not get too upset over why they were probably not going to be using her gift.

"Shego, sweetheart," Kim paused and turned to the point where she put her legs around Shego's waist. Green eyes locked before Kim continued. "I always spend Christmas with my family," she stated.

"What?" A pale brow furrowed. "You didn't last year," Shego pointed out. They had all remained in the apartment building last year and celebrated the holiday in Trin and Shin's apartment. She recalled that Trin had actually outdone herself on the dinner, even though it was not what she expected of a Christmas dinner by blondie. Actually, now that she was thinking about it, it was as if Trin had not expected that she would have to cook on Christmas.

"Shego, don't you remember that huge snow storm last year? We couldn't leave and even if we could, there was no way we'd be able to make it into Middleton, which had snow way worse than we did," Kim reminded her lover. The storm last year had been epic; they could not drive out of town and flying was out of the question. So, they had to improvise.

The older woman took a moment to recollect more of the holiday than the meal and then she remembered. For that whole week, Kim had been so hyped about going back home and then the night before they were going to leave the snow started. The snow had not stopped long enough for them to escape the city by any means. Her eyes drifted back to the tickets.

"I forgot…" Shego muttered, sounding and looking very disappointed in herself. She could not believe that she had forgotten how overjoyed Kim had been last year. It slipped her mind because they had not been able to make the trip and she had been so pleased wit herself on snagging those cruise tickets.

"Oh, sweetie, it's fine," Kim tried to assure her lover when she saw how down Shego actually looked over what happened.

Shego glanced down for a moment, trying to gather herself, and then stared up at her girlfriend through her eyelashes. "There's no way I could convince you to come away with me for seven days is there?" she inquired with an exaggerated pout, hoping that it would help, if only a little.

"Baby, I would love to, but I miss my family. As much as I love being with you, I still want to see them, especially on Christmas. For us, Christmas is a family holiday and I do really miss them. I know it might not seem like much time to you, but I used to see them everyday and now I only see them weeks at a time," Kim tried to explain.

"But, you have the month off, Princess," Shego pointed out, even though she knew that she was going to lose the argument. Still, seven days on a cruise ship was worth the fight, even if it was a halfhearted attempt.

"I could say the same to you."

"Yeah, but my gift is already bought and paid for," Shego stated, forcing out a teasing smile.

The redhead pouted a bit, olive eyes begging for forgiveness. "Sorry, Shego," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it, Pumpkin," the older woman said, waving the apology off. "I'll sell 'em on line and make a profit. Next time I'll just plan better."

"It was a very nice idea," Kim insisted. Had it been any other time, she would be packing her bags to leave with Shego, but not during Christmas.

"You would love it more if you got to experience it and then you'd really appreciate it," Shego remarked, gently stroking her girlfriend's sides.

"Some other time, baby. I'm looking forward to seeing my parents and even the tweebs. Ron will be around too," Kim informed her lover with a soft smile as she thought about everyone that would be around.

"I have to deal with Ron too?" Shego teased, making sure to groan as if the thought alone pained her greatly.

Kim smiled and then gave Shego a kiss on the end of her nose. "Yes, you have to deal with Ron too. I think he's bringing Yori to experience both Hanukkah and Christmas with our families. It's a big family affair," Kim proclaimed.

"Sounds that way."

"I want you to experience it too. This is a Possible family tradition and while you're with me, you're a Possible," Kim declared.

A light laugh escaped Shego. "I don't get a say in this, do I?" she joked. She already knew that Kim felt like she was part of the family and she had to say, after a year and a half with Kim, she felt more than welcomed by the Possibles.

"Hey, I just had an idea. Would your family like to join us?" Kim proposed with a sparkle in her eye that let her lover know she thought this was a wonderful idea.

"My family?" Shego's face scrunched up and made it seem like she did not know what that was. The blank look in her eyes almost seemed to declare that she did not have a family, which Kim knew was far from the truth.

Red-orange hair swayed as the hero nodded. "I know it's short notice, but the more the merrier as far as the Possible clan is concerned. So, would your family like to come or are they busy? I'm sure that they had their own Christmas plans."

An amused smile settled on the pale face. "Not everyone celebrates Christmas, Princess."

"I know that. But, does yours? I don't know much about your family, Shego, and we've been dating for over a year. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

Shego scratched her head a little. "It's not too weird. I don't talk about them much, but then again, you've met my brothers, so you know why. Is this really that important to you, Kimmie?"

Puppy-like olive eyes were the only answer Shego really required, but the small nod just confirmed the eyes. Shego sighed and rubbed her face for a moment, trying to fix her mouth to say what she needed to say. Pressing Kim closer to her, the words found their way out of her throat.

"I guess I can call my parents and get them to come up. I'm sure they're not doing anything," Shego stated.

"Really?" Kim squeaked, grin lighting up the whole room.

"It shouldn't be too much of a problem. They usually just go trips around this time of year anyway. So, I'll call them and tell them to meet us in Middleton. When Christmas day or eve?"

"Eve. We have both a Christmas Eve dinner and a Christmas dinner, so it would be best for them to come eve," Kim explained.

"Consider it done, Princess."

"Thank you!" Kim then launched herself at Shego, going in mouth first. Somewhere in between the kisses, Shego considered herself screwed…and not in the pleasant way either. She did not want to have to deal with her parents, especially not with a certain blonde Possible around. But, it was going to have to be a necessary evil since Kim was so happy.

-8-8-8-8-

"What the hell do you mean you might not be going?" Trin demanded, glaring at her male counterpart, looking as if she was trying to grind his bones while they were still in his body. Standing with her arms folded across her chest in their neat and tidy living room, somehow she looked like a patiently waiting, coiled viper. A strike was imminent, but her target either did not notice or care.

"Just what I said. I might not go home for Christmas this year. I was thinking about spending this year with Booker," Shin declared with just as much bravado as he had the first time he made the statement. He stood several feet away with his chest puffed out and his chin held high.

"You just want me to slap the hell out of you, don't you? You can't just invite yourself to someone's Christmas holiday, even if you are his boyfriend," Trin pointed out, tone implying that she thought her best friend was some kind of moron.

Deep brown eyes rolled. "Why not? He said it was always all right for me to stop by," he countered, as if that made everything all right.

"Yes, but is it his house for him to give you that sort of permission? No. It belongs to his mother, who I do believe you failed to make a good impression on as you have a horrible habit of doing. You don't have the right to ruin that woman's time with her family," Trin argued calmly, tone and eyes still calling Shin an idiot.

"Since when do you even care?" he inquired venomously.

Trin growled. "Excuse me for showing some concern for you."

"How the hell is this even concern for me? I know what I'm doing is the right thing, so how the hell is it concern for me?" Shin demanded. "You're just trying to order me around because you're a control freak," he proclaimed.

Blue eyes rolled before Trin sighed. For a moment, she took her glasses off and massaged the bridge of her nose. Easing herself down on the sofa, she took several deep breaths to keep her composure. Crossing her legs at the ankle, she put her hands in her lap. Then, with grace and elegance, she turned her attention back to Shin.

"This is the way it's going to be, Shin. You are coming back to Middleton with us. You are staying with your parents during the time. You will attend dinner at my house, as we do every year. If this proves to be a problem or too much for you to handle, I will simply drug you and you will wake up in Middleton," she explained to him in a rather composed and rational tone, letting him know that she meant every word of it.

He glared at her. "You think I'm going to let that happen?"

"You think you can go without eating or drinking in this house until we leave?" she countered.

"What does it matter!" he demanded, stomping his foot like a spoiled brat.

"It matters because you can't just invite yourself into someone else's holiday and you can't just dismiss your own family's feeling on the matter. Do you think your parents are going to be happy to find out that you just invited yourself to someone's Christmas and forgotten about them?"

"I want to be with Booker," he stated plainly.

"Then you should have invited him."

For a moment, Shin was quiet. Glancing away, he rubbed his eyes. She noticed that his jaw was trembling, which she suspected was not an act. Still, she did not care if he was about to cry. He could bawl his eyes out and he was still going to Middleton for Christmas.

"Why are you making this into such a big deal?" he asked, voice cracking and tears gathering in his eyes.

"Because it is a big deal on two different ends and because I want to. Now, get this idea out of your head. I will tell you right now, I refuse to let you make an ass out of yourself in front of Booker. What do you think he's going to go through if you show up unannounced during Christmas? His mother already doesn't like you thanks to your usual shenanigans over the summer. How much and how far are you willing to go before she demands that you never see Booker again? You need to learn how to act before you go anywhere next to that woman again," Trin announced and she could not believe that she was the one giving him this speech. Unfortunately, she was the only one around to give it to him. She hoped that it got through to him, but if not, she was looking forward to trying all sorts of new drugs on him.

"Look, you shrew, I wanna see Booker," Shin said, stomping his foot again like an angry child. She was not moved.

"So the hell what? If you were so keen on seeing Booker, you would have made a better impression on his mother to be _invited_ to their Christmas. Now, again, I will drug you if you make me think it's necessary," she insisted.

"Damn it! You're such a fucking bitch!" he declared before storming off, slamming the door to his bedroom.

"Fucking baby," Trin called, not surprised by his attitude. She could hardly believe that he was acting so stupid. She understood that he had deep feelings for Booker and everything, but to just abandon their family and also burst into Bookers's family during Christmas was a little too much. "He was probably acting, just testing the waters to see if that was a good idea," she concluded. Or, to see how much of a bad idea it was. That was something that he would do, after all. Of course, he could not just ask, he had to get on her nerves with it as much as possible too.

Trin did not have much time to contemplate why her evil twin was acting like a spoiled brat…more so than usual. Tatsu eased her way out into the living room and crawled onto the couch. She was still somewhat wet from her shower, which she just took, but Trin cuddled into her immediately anyway. Tatsu wrapped her arms around Trin and held her close.

"Shin giving you fits again?" Tatsu asked, mumbling as usual.

"Of course. He's being stupid as usual, but I have him under control, as always," Trin replied.

"What was the problem?"

"I'm not sure if there really was one, but he seemed to be under the impression that he was going to be able to skip our family Christmas time together and go be with Booker while ruining Christmas for not just his own parents, but Booker's mother as well," the blond explained as if it was no big deal. It was hard to believe that she had just been screaming at Shin about this.

Tatsu's eyebrows curled up a little. "You're going to make him go home?"

"Of course I am. I can't allow him to ruin so many holidays at once. Yes, he might enjoy it, but many others won't and that's not fair."

Tatsu made a strange noise, but did not comment further on that matter. "How long are you gonna be gone for the Christmas thing?"

Trin eyed her lover curiously. "Baby, what do you mean? You're coming too."

"I am?" Tatsu asked. That was news to her.

"Of course you are! Baby, this is our first Christmas out to my family. They all know about us. You have to come. You're a part of the family now too," Trin insisted.

Ice blue eyes glanced away. "…Are you sure? I don't wanna mess up the holiday…"

"Baby, you would never mess up the holiday. My parents and brothers are expecting you. You can't do this to me, Tatsu. You can't just abandon me on Christmas," Trin begged, clinging tightly to her lover. Sapphire eyes widened and glistened, cutting into Tatsu.

"No! I'd never!" Tatsu swore, holding her girlfriend tighter. Placing a gentle kiss to Trin's pale cheek, she took a deep breath before continuing. "I'd never abandon you. I just…didn't know I was invited. That's all."

"Of course you're invited, baby. You're practically a Possible," Trin declared.

Tatsu was silent from that. Trin searched her ice blue eyes, trying to determine what was wrong with her partner. Mostly, all she could see was some underlying sorrow, but there seemed to be more to things than that.

"Do you want to visit your mother or your father while we're there?" Trin proposed, thinking that might be what was wrong with Tatsu. She had not come from anything close to the ideal family situation, so maybe being around the Possible clan or just hearing about them reminded her of what she came from.

"I dunno. Maybe." Tatsu took a deep breath again. "Trin…" she said, sounding grim and serious.

"Baby, please, tell me what's wrong. What can I do to help? How can I make you feel better?" Trin tenderly implored, caressing her lover's stomach.

Tatsu shook her head, her short, damp hair falling in her face because of the movement. A cream-colored hand reached up and brushed the wet hair back. Tatsu smile a little.

"It's not something bad. I'm just a little…um…what's the word?" Tatsu rubbed her forehead, scanning her mind for the word that she needed. "Oh, overwhelmed by everything. Sometimes, I just get that way when I think about you. I feel so much then."

"But, you look sad," Trin pointed out.

There was a nod. "Partly because I remember what my parents were like compared to yours, but it's more about feeling bad because I can't give you all that you give me in return."

"Baby, don't be silly! You give me so much," Trin proclaimed, eyes imploring that her beloved believe her.

"Not as much as I want to give you," Tatsu pointed out and then she sighed, shaking her head. "If you only knew, my love."

"Tell me," Trin requested in a breath.

"I want to be able to take you to the finest restaurants and pay for everything. I want to be able to buy you a house. I want to be able to take you wherever you want to go and never once have you go into your own wallet. I want to be stable enough to be a family with you," Tatsu explained, her voice low, disbelieving what she was actually confessing.

"Oh, baby. Those are just material things and the last part is already true. You are my family. One day, we can have a home together. We can start saving now," Trin said.

Tatsu shook her head. "It's not the same. I feel like we're unbalanced sometime, like I don't pull my weight. Like, living here. I can't find stable work. When I do get a job, I get fired almost right after getting my first paycheck for whatever reasons, so I can't really pay any bills. This is no way to live. I'm living off of you and I don't want that," she explained. She had already been through three jobs and she was unemployed at the moment. She felt like she could not offer Trin anything and it was like she was a leech, even though she knew her lover did not feel that way about things.

The blond nodded. "I understand what you mean, baby. I truly do. How's about this, we start a joint bank account and I will only put in whenever you do and only the same amount. I have faith that you'll find steady work and make more money, but until then, we can go small."

"That sounds good," Tatsu agreed with a nod. "Do you think I should have kept working on the race cars?" She had given up working on illegal racecars because she felt like she had a lot to lose if she got caught breaking the law. She wanted to be responsible for Trin and for their relationship.

"You know I was behind your decision, no matter what it was. I respect that you walked away from it, though," Trin answered. Honestly, it made no difference to her what Tatsu did for a living as she loved the woman, not the job, but when Tatsu explained why she could stop doing something illegal, it had touched Trin. Secretly, the blond felt the same and knew that she now had to be careful with her own activities. So, there was to be no more "borrowing" satellites or hacking computers when she was bored.

"Can't hold you if I'm in jail…or trying to pay off thousands of dollars in fines," Tatsu quipped, smiling a little.

"Oh, that is a bad thing since you know how much I love these arms around me," Trin commented, caressing Tatsu's tight biceps. "But, I would also move heaven and Earth to keep you out of jail if you decided to go back to working on the race cars."

Tatsu laughed a bit. "I know you would, but I don't want to cause you that kind of trouble. Would you believe when I think about the future with you I actually think 'white picket fence' and stuff like that?" Stuff like that had never entered her mind until she started dating Trin and even then, she had to get to know the blond better for such things to invade her mind. Before Trin, Tatsu lived hour to hour, not even planning for the next day. Life drifted by her, but now she had plans and she enjoyed that.

"I can believe it. I often think the same. I don't need excitement in my life, baby. I like a slow pace and if you want to live in the suburbs and have a dog and things of that nature, I am all for it."

Tatsu smiled a little more and leaned her forehead against Trin's. "What are these odds of that happening?" she asked in a low voice.

"While Shin lives and breaths? Slim to none, but it is nice to dream."

An amused smile lit up Tatsu's face, showing that she agreed. The couple remained snuggled on the sofa for quite some time. Trin was pleased to know that she had gotten Shin settled and that she had also connected with Tatsu. For a while, she had feared that she and Tatsu might have reached their end, especially over the summer. But, they talked things out and were stronger than ever now, especially since they both began opening up to each other.

Trin thought it helped that Tatsu now lived with her. Once it had been established that they were living together, they had hit a few bumps in the road, but nothing too tough. They were able to endure and overcome little differences and big annoyances, like Shin, who had made it his business to show that he disliked the idea of Tatsu moving in. He was somewhat over it now, but every now and then his feelings toward the matter came out. Their biggest problem currently was Tatsu's employment record, which only bothered Trin because it bothered the mechanic.

"Baby, I promise, this Christmas is going to be great," Trin stated, placing a small, delicate kiss to her lover's lips.

"I'm looking forward to it then," Tatsu replied, some trepidation in her voice. While she had no doubt that the holiday itself would be fine and the Possible family would get along get, she hoped that she was not so awkward to ruin everything. She had never had a proper Christmas with a family before.

"And you don't have to be nervous. You've been around my family before."

"Not for Christmas."

"I know, but think of it as Thanksgiving all over again. You had a good time then, right? And it was a first."

"Still, it wasn't Christmas."

Trin smiled and kissed Tatsu on the lips. "It'll be fine," she promised. The adoring look in Tatsu's face let Trin know that her beloved believed her.

-8-8-8-8-

"Hey, sis, can I ask you a personal question?" Kim asked as she and Trin were returning from their final day of tests. They were in the school parking lot walking to Trin's car.

"You know you can ask me anything, Mini-me," Trin replied.

"For Christmas, are you going to do anything special for Tatsu?"

Trin arched an eyebrow, knowing her little sister liked speaking in euphemisms when it came to certain relationship matters. "By special you mean boxed gift or bedroom gift?" she asked as they climbed into the car.

"Both."

"Bedroom special seems to be a before and after the trip. I'm a little uncomfortable with doing such things with Mom and Dad right now the hall," Trin explained.

Kim nodded. "It does seem a little weird. What if Shego wants to?"

"I'm sure if you tell Shego you're uncomfortable with the idea of doing anything in our parents' house, she'll understand. She might tease you a bit, but you don't like the idea, tell her."

"Okay. And what about boxed gift?"

"Well, my relationship with Tatsu is just a little different from yours and Shego's. Shego lets you direct the relationship while I try to let Tatsu do it. So, I don't want to do anything too big to make her uncomfortable," Trin replied.

"You let her make the grand gestures?"

"Well, it's that or I make my grand gestures seem subtle. Do you want to make a grand gesture toward Shego?"

"I'm not sure. I want her to know I appreciate her and everything that she's given up for me. I know she sacrificed a lot and I want her to know that I still recognize this after being together for a year and a half," Kim informed her sister.

"Do you want ideas on what you should do for her?" Trin inquired curiously.

"It would be a great help."

"Well, all women love jewelry," the blond commented with a smile.

"Even Tatsu?" the petite hero teased.

"Hmmm…we might have to find out. I have yet to buy my baby any sort of jewelry. It could be fun, so I shall give that a try. I just have to be careful. I feel like if I buy her a ring at this point, she'll run screaming into the dark."

"Why do you think that?"

Trin shrugged a little. "I think this whole change for her, not just scenery, but jobs and everything, has her skittish. She's seemed rather anxious lately and she told me that she doesn't feel like she pulls her weight. I don't want to shake her too much."

The younger sister nodded. "That makes sense. I feel like I need to do something big because Shego seems little anxious too. I think she needs to get away a little bit. She actually brought tickets to a cruise for Christmas. I felt bad for having to turn her down."

"Well, there you go. Maybe you should buy tickets for a cruise that you both could go on. Maybe for Valentine's day…well, a late Valentine's day as it would have to be spring break."

Nodding enthusiastically, Kim grinned. "That is a good idea. I'll have to do that. I'm going to do a few other things for Shego too. I don't want her to get bored with me."

Trin cast her sister a curious glance. "Bored with you?" she echoed incredulously.

"Well, I know a lot of the time Shego is happy with just lounging around, but being with me is a complete changing of gears for her. Even when she wasn't being Drakken's lackey, she was off on exotic vacations and stuff like that. Now, she just lounges on your couch and harasses you."

"And loves you," Trin added in.

"Yeah, there is that. But, love can only last as long as both parties are happy with their circumstances," Kim pointed out.

A proud smile graced the elder sibling's face. "You are wise beyond your years, Mini-me. I think that you'll handle this Christmas just fine."

"I hope so," Kim stated.

Trin waved her little sister off, certain that Kim had things well under control. She just hoped that Kim's worry of Shego getting bored was inaccurate. Unfortunately, she could tell what Kim meant. One of the things that Kim and Shego had in common was the fact that they both liked to keep active. Kim, of course, was much more extreme in that, but Shego had her moments. There was only so much lounging around the house Shego would be able to take.

-8-8-8-8-

"Do you have everything packed?" Kim asked Shego as she leaned on the door. She was pretty much ready to leave with the clothes on her back because she had essentials at her parents' house. She had had the forethought to have all of her gifts shipped to her parents' house too, so she did not have to worry about carrying them.

"Yes, you know I do considering the fact that you packed most of it last night," Shego replied, coming out of their bedroom with a duffle bag on her shoulder.

"I was bored!"

"You were antsy," the older woman corrected her lover.

Kim laughed, but refused to admit that was the reason. Shego let it go in favor of checking her bag for the fifth time. Honestly, she could not believe that she was going through with this when she could have been on a luxury cruise liner sipping drinks out of a coconut.

"Are your parents and brothers going to show up?" Kim asked curiously as they exited the apartment.

"I couldn't find any of my brothers, but according to my father, he and my mother are on opposite ends of the globe," Shego answered.

Kim's brow wrinkled. "You make it sound like they're apart," she commented.

"They are. My mother is taking in the sun down in Sydney and my father is mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. "

"Your parents vacation separately?" Kim inquired. She wondered if that was something Shego would end up wanting to do. She did not like that idea.

"No, they don't vacation separately."

"Then I don't understand."

"It's complicated," Shego said and it was clearly a cop-out answer.

Kim was tempted to push the issue, but they arrived at Trin and Shin's apartment. The door was unlocked, as they were expected and no one wanted to worry about having to fix the lock if Shego decided to pick it instead of ringing the doorbell. Inside, they found Tatsu sitting on the couch, clutching a book bag as if it were a protective teddy bear. They sat down across from her in one of the armchairs.

"Where are the evil twins?" Shego asked and then a loud crashing noise was heard from Shin's room. "Never mind."

"Tatsu, are you all right? You look a little sick," Kim noted.

"Fine," the mechanic mumbled before burying her face in her bag to have an excuse not to talk anymore.

"You don't look fine. You want to talk about?" Kim asked in a kind and concerned voice.

Tatsu shook her head. Shego studied her for a moment before she came up with something. "She probably already talked about it with blondie, Princess. Whatever's wrong with her has probably been talked to death," the older woman remarked.

"Fuck you," Tatsu grumbled, snarling at Shego. The former thief only grinned.

The trio was not able start any sort of conversation before Shin's screaming drowned out most sound. They were rather certain that they could hear the distinct sound of steel against steel. It would not surprise them if Trin and Shin were seriously fighting in the room. They found out that was the case only seconds later when Shin fell out of the room, stumbled to the floor, and a duffel bag landed on top of his chest. Trin then stepped out, her hair a mess, and a Japanese sword in her hand.

"Next time I tell you to fucking move, you do it," the blond spoke down to her fallen friend. She then stepped over Shin, almost as if he was not even there. Turning to the trio, she brushed her hair back. "Please, ladies, give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to go," she informed them before walking off to her bedroom.

"Shin, you still alive?" Shego called with a laugh.

"Shut up," Shin growled, picking him up only to fling himself onto the closest armchair.

"Why is that pink puff manhandling you on this holiest of holy days before Christmas?" Shego inquired, amusement gleaming in her eyes.

"Fucking shrew!" Shin snarled.

"He tried to escape," Tatsu supplied as to why Shin was getting what he deserved.

"What for? Didn't Trin already beat into your head that you're going? You know once she tells you something, that's it," Kim reminded the fuming young man.

"It's not fair! You guys all get to be with your lovers on Christmas! I wanna be with mine!" Shin whined loudly.

"You weren't invited! Stop trying to ruin people's family time with your selfishness!" Trin hollered.

"She's right, you know, Shin. It would be awful for you to go there and Booker's mother doesn't want you there. You were supposed to make a good first impression this summer. Why didn't you just do that?" Kim asked in a curious tone. Shin had really screwed himself up over the summer by failing to turn himself down a notch when meeting his boyfriend's mother.

"I tried!" Shin insisted.

"You obviously didn't try hard enough and do you really think that you'll win any points by showing up on Christmas uninvited?" Kim inquired incredulously.

"You must really be some kind of moron," Shego added in.

"I wanted to make up for things…" Shin grumbled frowning deeply. Honestly, he wanted to go to Booker and show that he could behave himself and that he could be the perfect gentleman. He was just so overwhelmed in the summer that he had accidentally let it show. He was sure that if he could just go, he could make everything right.

"Right now, until you can work things out with Booker on how you should act with his mother, I don't think you should drop in unannounced for any holiday gatherings. Think of it this way, Trin is saving you from yourself because you're not thinking clearly," Kim explained.

"Or at all," Tatsu muttered.

"Seconded," Shego concurred.

Shin pouted, upset that all four ladies were against him. Damn it, usually at least Shego was on his side! He did not say anything in his defense, but as the quiet settled in and he thought on things, he considered that they might have a point. He thought that he would be able to go see Booker and make everything all right, but then again, over the summer he had assumed that he could be on his best behavior. Now, he had not been his usual over-the-top self, but he had still been enough for Booker's mother to request that Booker not bring him around anymore. It would not be a good idea to start making amends by coming around her when she did not even invite him. He liked to believe that he could have made things right somehow, though. But, then again, he realized that he did not even have a plan to make things right. It was as if he thought just showing up would magically make things good.

"All right. I am ready," Trin announced as she reentered the room, her hair fresh and her face perfect. Nothing was out of her place with her pink slacks and yellow shirt. It would be hard to believe that she had just had a sword fight.

"Everybody got everything?" Kim asked as she stood. The others followed. They were all ready to go.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the group arrives in Middleton and parents follow right behind them.


	2. Home for the holidays

I don't own these characters; Disney does. Oh, wait, there's a cornucopia of OCs in this one. I do own the following: Trin, Shin, Tatsu, Isabel, Kane, Shinichiro, and Tashawna.

2: Home for the holidays

The group arrived in Middleton a few hours after they left their homes, pulling up to the Possible household in two vehicles. Trin, Tatsu, and Shin climbed out of their car and Kim and Shego had taken Shego's car. All eyes stared at the house for a moment, taking in the sight of the Christmas lights and decorations. For some reason, just seeing that made Kim put her arms around Shego. Tatsu clutched on Trin's hand and the blond gave the hand a gentle squeeze.

"Welcome home, huh?" Shego whispered into Kim's ear.

The redhead nodded a little. "Home is where you are, sweetheart," she replied.

Shin wanted to roll his eyes, but found he could not. Watching the two couples, he could not even manage something smart. All he could do was wish that Booker was there with him. For the first time, he wondered why he had no invited Booker to be with him instead of coming up with the crazy scheme of invading Booker's family celebration. Shaking the thoughts away, Shin was the one that walked up to the front door. The very excited Doctors Possible as well as the "tweebs" greeted the group at the door.

"We've been waiting for you! We thought you would be here much earlier," Anne said as she waved them into the living room. The group wasted no time marching inside and she closed the door behind them.

There were hugs all around. Shego expected it, having had to put up with it at Thanksgiving. Just because she expected it, though, did not mean that she had to like it. She just made sure not to express her displeasure because she did not want to cause trouble for Kim. Besides, it was not like she was not used to hugs and it was not so much that she disliked hugs. She just liked complaining.

Tatsu was completely different. Even though she had been hugged at Thanksgiving, she was not expecting it that time around for whatever reason. Hugging anyone aside from Trin made her uncomfortable and nervous, which was easy to tell. Her went rigid and tense whenever someone put their arms around her, but that did not stop the Possible family. They wanted her to get used to the affection, especially since they were all certain that she was there to stay.

"What did take you guys so long?" Jim asked once all of the embracing was over and done with.

"Yeah, it's not like it was snowing or anything this time around," Tim added.

"We had a little problem, but it sorted itself out," Trin replied, glancing at Shin, who she noticed was no longer sulking. A small smile actually invaded her face for a very brief moment.

"Wonderful. It's always good when you all avoid trouble. Now, if anyone has gifts that they would like to put under the tree, I would be happy to help. Shin, your parents called and said they would likely be here before dinner tonight. They said it would be all right for you to go into the house, but they would prefer if you waited here," James informed them, focusing his attention mostly to Shin on those last parts since they were for him.

"If there's cookies, I am so here," Shin declared with a grin, willing himself to get into the holiday spirit. He kept telling himself that things were better this way and that for once Trin was actually right. He needed time to think of a better way to make things up to Booker and his mother. He more hated to admit that the shrew was right then anything else, even if it was just to himself.

"Cookies are piled high in the kitchen, just for you," Anne replied with a smile, patting him on his broad shoulder.

He grinned and turned, hugging the neurosurgeon tightly. "I am so there!" he declared, smacking his lips loudly, already tasting his aunt's cookies.

Shin released Anne and then he dropped his bag, which was actually full of gifts and rushed off. James laughed and picked up the bag for the boy. He went over to the tree to put Shin's presents there. Trin watched her father carefully for a moment before turning her attention to Anne.

"I'm going to take Tatsu up to my room to put her stuff down," Trin said, speaking to her mother while gently pulling her lover away.

Anne turned her attention directly to Kim and Shego. "Shego, Kim called before and said your parents might come. Is that still true?"

Shego shrugged. "Honestly, I don't have a freaking clue. I told them about the gathering and told them that Kim invited them and you wouldn't mind if they showed up. I even told them to meet me here, but who knows with them," she answered. It was hard to explain her parents, especially to people that did not know them.

"Well, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for them. I assume you'll be staying in Kim's room?" Anne inquired, glancing over at her husband. James was still busy around the tree, organizing the overflow of presents Shin had in his bag.

A nervous laugh escaped the younger redhead. "Um…I figured it would be all right with you and Dad…" she said. She was not sure if it was, though. She had not asked, not sure how to approach the topic. It was embarrassing. She wished that she could do like Trin and just walk off with her girlfriend, showing how things were going to be.

Blue eyes glanced over by the Christmas tree again before turning back to Kim. "It's fine," she stated.

"Thanks, Mom," Kim grinned, pulling her mother in for an elated, tight embrace. Anne laughed a little from her daughter's enthusiasm and continued to laugh when Kim released her. The hero turned attention to her partner, grinning still and bouncing on her heels. Shego was ready to declare her lover adorable, but Kim took her hand and they were off.

Kim led Shego away, yanking her toward her room. Anne just watched them go and kept an eye on her husband in case she needed to distract him. She knew that he would not be very open to the idea of their daughters sharing their room with their girlfriends, even if they had been in relationships for years. It did not matter to James if they had been in relationships for centuries; they were still his little girls.

"Where are the girls?" James asked as he looked up to see the living room clear.

"They're getting Shego and Tatsu settled in," Anne replied, folding her arms across her stomach.

"Okay, we should make sure Tatsu is in the guestroom by us," James pointed out.

A small smile slipped onto the redhead's face. "Sorry, hon, but Tatsu is staying with Trin."

"What!" James jumped and actually nearly hit the ceiling. Anne expected as such and did not react to the amazing feat.

"Hon, don't start," Anne said, walking over to him and taking him into a light hug. She kissed his cheek. "Trin and Tatsu are practically married. We've even been hinting to her to propose to Trin for a couple of months now. So, you should just calm down."

Taking a deep breath, James glanced at the stairs. "Okay, you're right about that. But, what about Shego? Surely you want to put her in a guestroom. Kimmie isn't old enough to share her room with her girlfriend!"

Anne's brow furrowed. "Honey, Kim is nineteen years old and she shares a room with her girlfriend most of the time. We've been to their apartment, so you know that."

James sighed. "It's so much easier to ignore when they're a hundred miles away," he pointed out.

"I know, I know. It's hard to believe, but our little girls are growing up. Think about it, if we have our way, Trin is going to be married within the year…if we could only get Tatsu to listen. Kim's been dating Shego for a year and living with her for just as long. Trin is about to have a full-time career. I'm sorry to say, but Trin is an adult already and Kim will be there soon enough. You have to let go," she whispered to him.

James groaned. "I don't want to. I want them to stay my little girls forever. I want to wake up to oatmeal and sitting in the kitchen with my newspaper and little Trin sitting next to me with her comics section. I want Kim playing on the kitchen floor with her blocks and the twins trying to walk over to the back door."

Anne smiled softly. "Unfortunately, time marches forward. You know that, Mister Rocket Scientist. But, if you're really nice, think about how in a few years, one of the kids might have kids of their own. Then, we get to start over as grandparents," she stated in a happy tone.

"Grandparents?" he echoed and pulled back a little to stare into Anne's blue eyes. He noticed a twinkle there and smiled. "As long as they're blond grandkids. She's the only one old enough to start a family so soon," he said.

Anne chuckled and nodded. James continued to smile. The thought of having a grandchild in a few years did not frighten him as much as he thought it would. He wondered if such a thing really was in the cards.

"We have to get Tatsu to propose first of all," James declared.

"I just hope that'll be easier than getting her to relax when we hug her," Anne remarked, earning a laugh from her husband.

"I hate to say it, but at least Shego isn't that bad," the scientist commented and that got a bigger laugh out of Anne.

-8-8-8-8-

"I can't believe your mother is letting us a share a room. When we came here for Thanksgiving, I thought your father was going to beat me with a bat to keep me out of here," Shego remarked as she dropped her bag in Kim's room.

Kim chuckled. "He probably would have pitched a fit today too, but he wasn't paying attention. With Mom giving us permission, it might help him ease into the idea that I'm an adult now."

Shego smiled, but did not say anything to that. Honestly, she was not sure what to say to it. She never had to deal with such a thing.

The former villain thought back to when they had come to Middleton for Thanksgiving just a month ago. James had been friendly with her, as he always was, up until she tried to go to sleep in Kim's room for the night. She did not understand why he suddenly got so belligerent, almost screaming at her and threatening her with something about rockets, orbits around the sun, and black holes. It had irked her to the point where she almost flared her hands to him, but something inside of her kept her from doing such a thing. Instead of fighting, she had glared at him while marching off to the room that he wanted her to go through. She did not understand why she did it, beyond the fact that she did not want to cause any problems for Kim…and she wanted the Possible family to like her.

"You don't think he'll force me to go to the guestroom, do you?" the older woman asked curiously. Once upon a time, she would have blown James off, not caring for his opinion, but since he was Kim's father, things were different. She found herself obeying him as if she were one of his daughters. She could not imagine what her parents would think if they witnessed her with the Possibles.

"I doubt he would do that, especially after we got the nod from Mom. Everything should be fine," Kim assured her lover, reaching out and taking Shego's hand. She smiled, thinking about the approval from her mother. It was not just approval of her girlfriend, but acknowledgment that she was growing up.

"Okay." A wicked smile spread across a pale face as she yanked Kim toward her. Powerful arms pressed Kim against Shego's supple form. "Would they enter without knocking since we're up here together?" she inquired in a naughty whisper that sent a shiver down Kim's spine.

It took Kim a moment, but then she remembered where they were. Pulling away slightly, she glared at her lover and shook a finger in Shego's face like a mother scolding a child. "No and don't even think about it, missy! This is my parents' house, my childhood bedroom, and my childhood bed!" Kim motioned to the aforementioned piece of furniture.

"Such a spoilsport," Shego pouted, releasing Kim in favor of folding her arms across her chest and cocking her hip out. "You take all the fun out of everything," she grumbled, making sure to look as unhappy as humanly possible. It did not seem to be getting her anywhere, though.

"No, you try to interject fun in places it doesn't belong. Please, baby, I don't want anything to wreck Christmas for my family and I want my dad to see how stable we are, so he won't have such a big deal with us sharing a room the next time we come here and he'll hopefully see me as an adult," Kim implored, taking Shego's hand again, wanting to share her emotions through contact.

A free hand went through lush, ebony hair and Shego sighed. Out of nowhere, she grabbed Kim into a tight embrace. She held Kim around the waist and pressed her body into the slender redhead. The hero was surprised for a moment, standing still with wide eyes. Once she realized that Shego was holding her and nothing beyond that, she returned the hug. For a moment, they were silent with the older woman caressing the small of Kim's back and earning a light moan from the petite redhead.

Shego was the one that broke the silent, speaking in a low, but powerful tone. "Princess, I promise you, I will do my best to make this a wonderful Christmas for you and your family. I also promise to keep winning over your father. I just don't know if it'll ever happen," she said. She would do just about anything to keep Kim because she knew what it was like to be without Kim. The feeling did not sit well with her, so it was not an option.

"Sorry for this baggage, Shego. I just want to try to adjust my dad to the idea that we're dating. I admit, he might never see me beyond a seven-year-old girl, but I want him to get used to the idea of my being in a relationship."

There was a soft kiss to the side of the redhead's head. "I get it, Princess. I really do. My family isn't perfect either and one day you're going to meet them more than likely. We almost all come with families and no one is from the perfect family. I'm not going anywhere, you know that."

Kim nodded, even though she was not sure how much she believed that. Even though Shego might be able to handle her father, Kim was not sure if Shego would be able to survive the ennui of their lives. Beyond the crazy adventure here and there, all Shego did was lounge on a couch while Kim attended classes with Trin and Shin. Even Tatsu had a job…on and off anyway. Shego was the only one that had nothing to do almost all of the time. Kim was not sure how long Shego would be able to take that and she was not sure what Shego might do once the tedium finally got to the former thief.

_I won't let her get away_, Kim silently vowed.

-8-8-8-8-

Trin opened up Tatsu's bed and went to work putting her lover's clothes away. They were not going to be at the house long, but she just wanted Tatsu to be comfortable. She wanted Tatsu to start thinking of the house as a home-away-from-home, like she did. Tatsu was busy sitting on the bed, fingers fidgeting.

"Baby, I wish you would calm down. We've been here before and you know it's nothing to be worried about," Trin said, turning to her lover with sympathetic blue eyes. The look and words did not stop her beloved from being so jittery.

"What if I do something stupid in front of your parents?" Tatsu inquired with a troubled look on her face. It was always a concern of hers. She wanted to be liked by Trin's family and she was always worried that she might do something that made the doctors Possible hate her. To her, it was always more likely that she would mess something up than make things right.

Tropical blue eyes softened and Trin went to her girlfriend. She sat down on Tatsu's lap, getting a smile out of the mechanic. Slim arms went around Tatsu's neck and a gentle kiss was placed on her lips. Tatsu smiled a bit, always pleased to get a kiss, no matter the circumstances. Her hands went to Trin's hips to make sure she was secure, which earned her yet another kiss. They were then quiet for just a moment, enjoying their closeness. Trin caressed Tatsu's cheek and Tatsu kissed her palm.

"Baby, you're not on an interview around here or with my family. They like you. They also respect the fact that I love you. Baby, please, I want you to think of them as your family. I want you to be comfortable with us. I want you to feel like if you needed to, you could come here without me. You could depend on my parents as I do."

Tatsu inhaled sharply and tightened her arms around Trin as if she was afraid. Honestly, she knew that the Possibles were extremely kind people. She knew that she needed a shoulder and Trin was not around, she could turn to them. She had learned that just from being around Kim, but she had been around the doctors Possible enough to know that she could count on them. That was what made her so nervous!

She was completely out of her element with the Possibles. Until she met them, she did not know such a stable, loving family could exist. Honestly, she would love to embrace them, but she did not know how. She did not know where to begin. All she could think about was how she could screw up her life totally if she slipped up just once in front of them, if she offended them in just a small way.

"Trin…I don't…I don't know how to handle family…" Tatsu admitted in a small voice.

The blond smiled softly and placed a tender kiss to Tatsu's lips again. "Baby, I know your family situation. I understand that this is hard for you, but I want you to know it doesn't have to be hard."

The mechanic nodded, even though that did not soothe her anxiety. "My mother…she didn't…you know…she didn't see me and my father thinks I'm stupid…"

"Love, I know what happened. My parents aren't like that. My family isn't like that. They see you. Hell, they feel you. You know that. They hug you and talk to you whenever they can. My brothers think the world of you. I know you know that."

Tatsu swallowed hard. "…I can…I can feel it… But, it makes me nervous. It makes my stomach flip," she confessed, moving Trin's hand to her belly.

"Do you like my family, baby?"

"I do," Tatsu admitted in a low voice. She adored the Possibles really. She just did not know what to do with that, except for try her best not to screw up. To avoid screwing up, she withdrew.

"And do you think they like you?"

"I do," Tatsu answered strongly. She could tell that they liked her, which brought her back to her trying her best not screw up.

"Then explain to me why we're going through this?"

"Uh…I…I don't wanna do something dumb. I don't want them to stop liking me. I don't want you to stop liking me."

Trin smiled. "Baby, you're so good at this talking thing now. You're opening up to me so well. Do you think you could try to slowly open up to my family? They know that people make mistakes if you do something silly. I know you're not going to do anything dumb because you're a very intelligent person, both mentally and socially if you give it a try. So, will you try?"

"To be open and social with your family?" Tatsu asked.

"Yes, please. Just give it a chance, love. We both know that if we give something time to become comfortable, we are both capable of adapting," the blonde pointed out.

Tatsu nodded because that was more than true. They had adapted to each other to give their relationship a chance. They had adapted to a long distance relationship when Trin had to go back to school. They had adapted to changes in their lives that left them in doubt that they were going to make it as a couple. They had adapted to living together. They would keep adapting, they both silently vowed.

"I'm gonna try…but, I don't know if I can stop being nervous…" Tatsu admitted.

A devilish smile curled onto Trin's face. "Well then, how about I relax you?" she suggested, but did not give Tatsu a chance to answer. The blonde attacked her lover with a deep, powerful kiss. Tatsu surrendered to the feeling immediately.

-8-8-8-8-

"Shin, if you keep eating cookies, you're going to be sick!" Anne scolded the young man, who was stuffing tree-shaped cookies in his mouth three at a time. This made him incapable of responding to her admonishment.

"He bet us that he could eat a dozen in a minute," Tim explained, keeping an eye on Shin to make sure he did not cheat, which Shin was known to do whenever it suited him.

"Why are you two encouraging him? You know you're not supposed to encourage Shin to do anything that could potentially end in a hospital run," James reminded the boys, giving them a stern look.

"It's Christmas. We're trying to be nice," Jim argued, grinning widely to show that they were, in fact, just trying to encourage Shin to hurt himself.

"Looks more like naughty from this end," Anne commented, watching as Shin's face started to turn a bright red. It definitely would not be a merry Christmas for her if she needed to the Heimlich on Shin…again. "No more cookies," she ordered as she slid a glass of milk in front of the crazy man.

Knowing that was a serious command, Shin nodded before gulping down the whole glass of milk without stopping for a breath. Anne and James shook their heads at him, both wondering if he was ever going to change. There was one thing about marching to the beat of a different drummer, but it was another to be completely immature and self-destructive, as if he had nothing to lose in life.

For a few seconds, they took the time to appreciate that their daughters were at least maturing. They were sure it would take the twins a little longer to mature, but they had faith that eventually the boys would even out. But, they could only wonder when Shin was going to do that. They hoped so; after all, he was family to them too and they cared about him as much as they did their own children.

"Shin, I think it would be a wise decision to at least stay alive until your parents arrive. They're going to want to see you undoubtedly," James quipped dryly. Sometimes, he wondered if Shin believed that.

"I can't wait to see them too. I see Mommy enough, but my poppa is almost always MIA," Shin said with a bit of a pout. While he was a momma's boy through and through, he loved his father just as much. Sometimes, it hurt to not see his father as often as he liked to. Well, at least it was better than when he was younger. He used to throw tantrums to see his father, but he was over that now.

"Your poppa works hard, Shin. Try to remain alive, so you can see him again. He was overjoyed to know he'd be able to be here for Christmas to see everyone," Anne informed the young man, eyes and tone understanding just how Shin was when it came to his father.

Shin nodded almost like a small child and his eyes drifted to the floor, almost as if he knew that the Possibles were trying to avoid reprimanding him for his behavior. He was used to it from them, but for some reason it bothered him now. It was not so much that they were trying to scold him, but that he was already doing something to be reproached about and he had only been in the house for a few minutes. It was like he could not help himself, he thought. _That's scary_.

He thought, if he could not help himself, then that explained why he had screwed things up over the summer. But, it also meant that he might never be able to make things right between him and Booker. The idea made him frown. He did not want to lose Booker by having no impulse control. Shaking that away, he tried to dismiss the thought, figuring it would be better to contemplate at home when he was not supposed to be enjoying time with his family and extended family.

"Hey, Jimmy, Timmy, wanna go play some video games?" Shin proposed with a bright smile. "I bought some," he added. It was something to do to avoid thinking about the semi-epiphany that he just had. Christmas was not supposed to be a time for deep thinking and self-discovery as far as he was concerned because he would start brooding. There was nothing "merry Christmas" about brooding.

The twins agreed with that and the three males disappeared into the living room. Anne and James figured that was for the best; it was hard for Shin to kill himself playing games…unless of course it was one of those games that needed to be controlled with the body. James decided to go take a peek in the living room and see what they were working with. Anne was about to continue on dinner preparations, having made most of the big things the night before, but the doorbell rang.

Anne got the door since James was making sure the video game play did not get out of control. Checking on who it was from the peephole, Anne's face scrunched up in confusion. Two people that she did not know were standing on the porch, but one of them looked rather familiar. She opened the door because of that.

"Hello, may I help you?" Anne greeted the pair.

"Hi, we're looking for the Possible residence," the pale woman standing before Anne asked. She was the one that appeared very familiar to the doctor. She looked like an older version of Shego.

"You're in the right place," the redhead stated with a smile.

"Oh, good. We're Shego's parents. She called to let us know we were invited to an important event in her life." The statement was accompanied by a good-natured smile. A short, wild-haired man by her side nodded in agreement.

"Oh, yes. We're having a family Christmas celebration. It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Kim's mother, Anne Possible," the neurosurgeon introduced herself, putting her hand out.

"Isabel Go," the pale woman replied, shaking Anne's hand.

"Shego looks just like you," Anne commented.

"That's all well and good. No one would be happy if she looked like him," Isabel remarked, motioning to the man beside her.

"Kane Go, Shego's proud daddy and Isabel's punching bag. Although, I could've sworn the ring made me her husband," he introduced himself with a happy grin, shaking Anne's hand. Shego bore no resemblance to the man, Anne noted. He had messy auburn hair and strange purple eyes. He was also quite short, standing several inches shorter than Isabel and Anne.

"Might I say that Kim looks just like you," Isabel added as she studied the doctor. Anne smiled, taking it as a compliment, as it was meant to be.

"Well, please come in. Dinner isn't for a few hours, but we can all get to know each other," the redhead declared, ushering them in with a wave of her hand. They came in and she shut the door.

The couple eyed the simple foyer area. "You have a lovely home. It looks beautiful and it has a wonderfully cozy feel to it," Isabel stated.

"Bella won't tell you, but she loves it when a home feels like a home," Kane said, earning a glare from his spouse.

"I hope it does feel like home for you," Anne informed them.

"We sincerely hope to get along very well for you. We understand how much our daughters mean to each other. We're happy that our little Shona was able to meet your daughter," Isabel explained.

"Shona?" Anne echoed. Shego never revealed what her real name was. Honestly, they all thought her real name was Shego since she seemed to go by that, even when she was not being a criminal.

"Shona always speaks highly of Kim and we see her on the news enough to know she's a great girl," Kane proclaimed.

"We did our best to raise her right. Kim and Shego are upstairs right now, unpacking. While I go and get them, you can introduce yourselves to my husband, sons, and nephew," Anne said, pointing them in the direction of the living room.

Isabel and Kane walked off while Anne trotted upstairs. She knocked on the wall and waited for a reply before making her way up to the attic room. Kim and Shego were standing by the doorway. The doctor smiled to herself when she saw that nothing seemed amiss in the room.

"There are more guests downstairs," Anne said vaguely, thinking Shego's parents might want their visit to be a surprise since Shego did not seem to know they were coming.

"More guests? Uncle Shin and Aunt Tashawna are here already?" Kim asked curiously, smiling at the thought of seeing them again.

"Come down and see," the older redhead replied.

Kim shrugged and she walked down with Shego following her. Anne decided to go check on Trin and Tatsu since she was up there. Besides, there was always the chance that Trin wanted to help her cook, so she would let the blond know that she was getting started. When she got to the door, she noted how quiet it was. She wondered if they had fallen asleep. Gently, she knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Trin called.

"Hey, sunshine, I'm going to start dinner and wondered if you wanted to help out," Anne replied.

"I would love to. I'll be down in a moment."

"All right. Oh, and we have other guests. Shego's parents decided to show up," Ann said, knowing that Trin would love to meet them.

"We'll be right down!" Trin declared in a somewhat excited tone. Well, excited for her anyway.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego stopped at the living room as if she had ran into an invisible barrier. Emerald eyes were wide with disbelief and Shego's mouth hung open as if she were surprised. Kim wondered why and turned her attention to inside of the room, looking where Shego was looking. She did not see her aunt and uncle as she expected, but rather two strangers—one of them Shego bore a striking resemblance to.

"Mommy, Daddy, what are you doing here?" Shego asked in shock.

"What do you mean, what are we doing here? We came to see you and meet your girlfriend, obviously, Shona!" Kane declared with a very large and proud grin. He walked over to Shego and grabbed her into a hug. "I've missed my little Sheshona."

"I'm taller than you, Daddy," Shego pointed out, failing to hide a smile.

"Fine, I've missed my very big Shona," Kane corrected himself, pulling away from the former thief and laughing.

"Shona?" Shin echoed with an arched eyebrow. Glancing at Kim, he noticed that she did not react to the nickname, so she probably knew about it.

"You said you were on opposite ends of the globe," Shego pointed out as Trin and Tatsu came down the stairs.

"You know, there are these things called airplanes. They take you all around the world, firefly," Isabel replied with a smart-ass smirk that almost everyone else was used to seeing on Shego rather than seeing it used against her.

"Firefly?" Trin parroted with an amused spark in her eyes.

"That's cute. We call Trin 'sunshine' and Kim is 'Kimmie-cub,'" James announced, almost as if he were evening things between the women.

"Sunshine?" Shego asked, giving the blond the same smug look that had just been directed at her seconds ago.

"Can it, firefly," Trin growled and then she turned her attention to the living room to get a look Shego's parents. She was not sure what to expect, but she was truly surprised when she saw them. "You're Isabel Go," the blond said, pointing at Isabel.

"Indeed I am. It's always nice to get out of introducing myself," Isabel quipped with a smile. She reached out and shook hands with the blond Possible.

"I'm Trin Possible, Kim's other sister and more than likely the person that will kill your daughter," Trin introduced herself.

She earned a laugh from Isabel. "Someone is going to have to do it sooner or later," she stated.

"Mommy, don't encourage her or I'll have to destroy both of you," Shego said and before she could go on, Shin decided at that moment to chime in.

"Oh, snap! She totally is Isabel Go!" Shin declared, climbing to his feet. He had not been paying attention to Shego's parents when introduced themselves to James. Now, having a reason to join in aside from making fun of Shego's pet names, his attention was hooked.

"And you're Shinichi Toriyama, son of Tashawna and Shinichiro Toriyama," Isabel realized as he stood before her.

"How do you know that? You know my mommy and my papa?" he asked curiously, arching an eyebrow. It was not often he ran into people that knew automatically who he was the son of.

"I know of your mother through your father, but I am acquainted with your father due to his association with my cousin Frederick," Isabel explained dryly. Her tone reminded him a little of Trin, which he thought was funny.

"Is it a good acquaintance or not? He's going to be here in a few hours, after all," Shin pointed out.

"It's fine. He shouldn't have a problem with me and I don't have a problem with him. You look like a lot like him," she noted.

"He acts a lot like him too," James commented.

"How do you two know my mother anyway?" Shego asked curiously, talking to the "evil twins."

"School," Shin answered, as if that made any sense. In fact, it got him a number of bewildered stares.

"Are you sure Uncle Shin isn't going to have problem with you? Most of those ninjas do, after all," Trin said, speaking to Isabel.

"I imagine he wouldn't have a problem with that since his son used to cheer for me whenever I was there. I find it a bit odd that you know about that, though. They usually frown against foreigners being at the school and never let them attend. Although, I have to say, looking at you, you have confirmed that one time I was there I wasn't going out of my mind as I had previously assumed," Isabel replied.

"What do you mean?" Trin inquired.

"One time while I was there, I thought I noticed a blond head in the corner. And I know the ninjas do not walk around with dyed hair when they're attending the school. I suspect it was you then," Isabel answered.

"I'm sure it was. I was there plenty of times when you showed up and handled many of the 'star pupils.' I often wondered why Master Sensei allowed you into the school since I am aware you are not Japanese yourself," Trin confessed.

Isabel smirked. "Who says he _allowed_ me anywhere?"

Shin laughed and clapped his hands loudly. "That makes things ever sweeter! I wish I could've seen his chubby face every time you whipped those uppity bastards! Shego, do you know your mother can kick serious ass?" he proclaimed with a giant grin.

A bored expression settled onto Shego's face. "No, I wasn't aware. In fact, I only just met her today myself," she remarked in a deadpan tone.

"You don't have to get snippy about it, firefly," he replied with a smart-aleck grin, eyes dancing with mischievous delight.

"Don't make me burn your eyebrows off again," she warned him, pointing a threatening finger at him.

A hand quickly went up to protect and cover his forehead as Shin squeaked. "No, it took them forever to grow back before! I looked so stupid penciling them on and even Booker was laughing at me!" he whined.

Kane smiled. "Seems like you're making a lot of good friends, Shona," he stated, patting his daughter on the shoulder.

"These are not my friends, Daddy," Shego grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. The smile on Kane's face said that he did not believe her and she turned her nose up, as if that would make things even more believable.

Everyone got a bit of a laugh out of Shego's attitude, keeping the mood rather light. Eventually, there was a round of introduction made, so that everyone knew each other. The conversation continued on smoothly.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the end.


	3. Peace

I don't own these characters; Disney does. Oh, wait, there's a cornucopia of OCs in this one. I do own the following: Trin, Shin, Tatsu, Isabel, Kane, Shinichiro, and Tashawna.

3: Peace

"So, how are things going between you and Tatsu now, sunshine?" Anne inquired, currently cutting up items to make the salad.

"Everything is better, but there are still some problems. We talk a lot more now, so I know one of the problems is that she's still nervous about the family thing," Trin replied. She was concentrating on making chicken dumplings. She figured that it would be good for Christmas dinner since she knew her mother had already cooked most of the food for tonight.

"Well, I'm sure that'll come with time. It was difficult getting her to come out here?" the redhead guessed.

"It was a little difficult. It was a bit harder than with Thanksgiving. I think she views Christmas a bigger deal because of the exchange of gifts. She was very nervous about buying things for you, Dad, and the boys."

A small smile worked its way onto Trin's face as she recalled taking Tatsu shopping a couple of times. Every time Tatsu picked an item, she asked "do you think your mom/dad/brother will like this?" only about dozen times. Trin knew for a fact that everything Tatsu picked out be used and appreciated, but the mechanic was not put at ease. Tatsu seemed to think that presents made the holiday and Trin knew that was because most of Tatsu's Christmas experience came from watching TV.

Anne's forehead wrinkled a bit. "She shouldn't worry about that."

"I've told her that. She just needs to experience it a bit and I'm sure she'll adjust to things," Trin stated.

Anne nodded. "Before or after she stops tensing every time someone hugs her?"

"I'm working with her on that too. Mom, I don't think it's my place to tell you what kind of home Tatsu spent much of her life in, but needless to say, there was not a lot of hugging and affection to go around," the blond explained as best she could.

Red hair swayed as the doctor shook her head. "That's a shame. Well, your father and I will continue to work on making her feel like she's a Possible because we know at this point, she is."

Trin smiled. "Thanks so much, Mom."

A smile lit up Anne's face and then there was a little sparkle in her eyes. "So, any chance of a special Christmas proposal?" the brain surgeon asked. She had been dropping hints to Tatsu whenever she saw her that it was about time to put a ring on Trin's finger. She hated to think that she was just going to have to come out and ask Tatsu when she was going to ask Trin to marry her.

"I doubt it, Mom. I'm not going to do it because I don't want to pressure Tatsu and Tatsu seems to still be trying to settle into living in a new city with a new job…which occurs about every two weeks," the blond answered.

"She's still having trouble with employment?" Anne asked with a sigh. Talking with both of her daughters often, she was somewhat up-to-date in their lives and knew that Tatsu was not doing well in the area of employment after closing her garage in Middleton and moving in with Trin. As Trin told it, Tatsu was not used to working with a boss or with other people. She also had a bad habit of making unrequested additions to the few cars she was allowed to work on.

"Unfortunately, yes. It's starting to get discouraging to her. She thinks that she doesn't know how to handle people, which isn't true. She just happens to pick very bad locations to work in with people who don't seem to think that she can do the job. I'm doing my best to be supportive, but there's only so many times one can be fired or have to walk away from a job before it starts to deflate your ego a bit." A sigh escaped the grad student and she shook her head a little.

"I'm surprised there's no favors you or your sister can call on to help."

Gold locks swayed as Trin shook her head again. "Tatsu wants to do it on her own. I think it goes beyond her pride, but I think that sometimes Tatsu looks at us like a traditional couple."

"And, at those times, she feels like she's the man," the brain surgeon guessed.

"Yes, in a way, which means she feels like she has to take care of me. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but so much of how Tatsu thinks is shaped by what she sees in 'normal' society. Slowly, she's changing, but she still has a long way to go. I don't mind her looking at things that way since she's not so traditional that she'll be walking through the door and demanding supper or something crazy like that. It'll make her happy to be able to get a job and take care of me, which is good enough for me. So, I suppose there won't be any proposals until she has steady work and she can start paying for things again," Trin explained as best she could.

"I think that's a reasonable thing. Can I expect grandchildren in the next few years then?" Anne inquired with a teasing, but sly grin.

"MOM!" The blush burned her face so badly that she thought her face might ignite.

"Oh, just one or two will do," Anne added, still smiling.

"MOM!"

The doorbell saved Trin from farther embarrassment because Anne went to answer the door while James kept the guests in the living room entertained. A bright smile over took her face as she swung the door open and greeted two of her oldest friends.

"You made it earlier than you said you would!" the neurosurgeon proclaimed as she stood face-to-face with the Toriyamas.

"We miss our baby and our not-so-little nieces and nephews!" Tashawna replied as she grabbed Anne into a tight hug. The pair embraced as if it had been a hundred years since they last saw each other.

"They're going to be so happy to see you. Hey, I'm happy to see you," Anne declared, which was evident in how tightly she was holding her friend.

"I know what you mean," Tashawna stated, a bright smile spread across her caramel face.

Once they were done hugging, Tashawna rushed into the house leaving Shinichiro behind to greet Anne on his own. He smiled at her and grabbed her into tight hug with his thick arms, which she returned with a groan. Smiling, he let her go and she scolded him for playing around so much. He stepped in and the door was shut behind him. He found his way to the living room, noticing that it was much more crowded than usual.

"There better be enough food for everybody," Shinichiro remarked. "But, if push comes to shove Shin, you're eating Trin," he added with a delighted grin.

"Gross, poppa! I know where she's been, after all!" Shin joked, making a twisted face in the direction of Tatsu.

"Then you know not to go near her," Tatsu replied, shaking her fist at him.

Shinichiro laughed. "Tatsu, it's always a delight to have you around to crack this boy's skull," he commented, slapping his son on the back rather roughly.

After tapping his son on the back, Shinichiro went and shook hands with Tatsu. He was the only one that respected the fact that she was not comfortable with hugging. Everyone else was just intent on getting her used to the open affection exchanged by the family. He just wanted to make sure he did not do anything that frightened her off, knowing that Trin had life plans for Tatsu.

Shinichiro then turned his attention to the surprise guests. "Imagine this, Isabel Go, attending the same family holiday gathering as me. The planets must be aligned in some special formation," he said with a mischievous a sparkle in his eyes. The stern hand on his wife on his shoulder told him that his mischief better not go any further than some fun banter or he was going to be in a lot of trouble.

"What are the odds that my daughter would somehow connect herself to your family," Isabel replied, sounding rather bored. Kane laughed a little at the exchange.

"I didn't think anything of that. I just think it's a bit weird for you to show up, but then again, your family is just so…family-orientated. It's a little creepy," he taunted her, grinning widely as he spoke.

Isabel looked bored and rubbed her knuckles on her chest before examining her fingernails. "Yes, we can't all be adopted by ninja schools and forced into doing their bidding by some of the worse mind control known to mankind," she countered drolly.

"Isn't that what family is?" Shin quipped, earning a smile from Isabel and outright laugh from his father. The clever response put a temporary end to the teasing.

"Have you met my husband, Kane Go?" Isabel asked Shinichiro, motioning to the auburn-haired man next to her, who was having a very animated conversation with Kim.

"I've heard a lot about him. So many people are still wondering how you managed to find someone to stay married to you. What about you? Have you met my wife, Tashawna Toriyama?" Shinichiro countered, putting his arm around his slender, mocha-skinned wife.

"I have not had the pleasure," Isabel replied, leaning forward to shake Tashawna's hand. "You must be a very strong woman to be able to stomach Shinichiro and the fact that he cloned himself with your son," she teased.

"You have no idea," Tashawna sighed, but smiled.

"I might. Besides my little firefly over there, I have four sons and they all have some aspects of their father in them," Isabel stated, grabbing onto her husband's hand. He smiled proudly.

"Will you stop calling me that!" Shego huffed, throwing her hands up in frustration at her mother's repeated use that silly pet name for her.

Tashawna and Shinichiro were able to join in with the activity in the living room with no problem, catching up on everyone's lives. Shego looked particularly grumpy, but when Kim smiled at her, she could not fight off a smile back. Once she looked a bit more appropriate for the holiday, Kim turned her attention back to Kane, who was telling just about every funny childhood 'Shona story that he could think of. Shego had not made any moves to stop him; James had already told her every funny and crazy story from Kim's childhood.

Soon the doorbell rang again and Kim was going to get it, but her father rushed to the door before her, specifically telling her to stay put. She thought it was strange, but she ignored it. It was possible that he just wanted her to take it easy while she was home; the idea was not unheard of, after all.

James grinned as he got to the door. Swinging it open, knowing who was already there, he engulfed the visitor in a hug. She groaned as he held her tightly to his chest. She never would have guessed he was so strong.

"Uncle James…you're crushing me…" Joss breathed out the complaint.

"Oh, I can't believe you actually came!" James proclaimed and then in a much lower voice, he continued on. "Your cousins are going to be so happy to see you."

"I hope so," Joss replied as he released her. She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

James ushered his niece in quickly and shut the door behind her. For a moment, he paused and took a good look at her. She had gotten taller since had last laid eyes on her, but he doubted she would look much different to anyone else since his daughters and wife had seen her over the summer. There was a delighted glint in her eyes that brought a smile to his face. It was easy to tell that she was eager to be there and he knew why. He was about to lead her to the living room, but thought the better of it. He stopped her from going deeper in the house.

"Wait here," he implored her and rushed off before she could answer. He marched into the living room, going right to Kim. "Excuse me, Kane, please, let me borrow Kim for a moment. I need to give her and her sister an early Christmas gift," he explained.

"Oh, by all means. I'll just monopolize another lovely lady around here," Kane remarked with a good-natured grin. He turned his attention to anyone in the room whose ear he could talk off.

James did not think anything of the remark, mostly because he was so excited. He took Kim by the hand and pulled her into the kitchen to get Trin. The blond did not get a chance to inquire what was going on before James' grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the kitchen. Trin looked at Kim, wanting an explanation. All Kim offered was a perplexed expression and a shrug. They found out why their father was so excited when they got to the small foyer of the house.

"Joss!" Kim grinned and rushed their younger cousin, grabbing her into a hug. They had not seen Joss since August when she had lived with them. While it had been a rough start, by the time Joss left, they were all very close. So much so that Joss called them every couple of days, wanting advice, help with her homework, or to just talk. Plus, there were the constant instant messages or texts or other forms of communication. She had done a complete 180 in her feelings for Trin and her feelings for Kim seemed to have returned to as they were before finding out Kim was a lesbian.

"I'm surprised your mother let you loose in this state, let alone come to our house and on Christmas no less," Trin commented dryly, calling attention to herself. Joss let go of Kim in order to embrace the blond. Trin could not help smiling, remembering not too long ago, Joss would not come within ten feet of her, let alone think to hug her. Now, Joss embraced her without thought, as if they had been close forever.

"My mom was very against this, but my dad said it was all right. He bought the ticket and everything. He even drove me to the airport and smiled when I left," Joss explained, sounding both excited and tearful. "I felt almost guilty leaving him alone." Her eyes drifted to the floor for a moment, but a gentle hand petting the back of her head got her to look at her blond cousin again.

"It's all right. I'm sure Uncle Slim wanted to give you this gift and he would want you to enjoy it," Trin replied in a surprisingly compassionate voice. In the past, such a tone would have frightened Joss, but now that she knew Trin pretty well, she understood that Trin actually had emotions and would express them toward people that she cared about.

"I know, I know. Oh, my dad gave him this to give to you and Kim," Joss said, pulling back and shifting her backpack. She went into the front pocket and pulled out a card envelope.

"What is this?" Trin asked as she accepted it. She shifted to the side a little to share the thin package with Kim.

A shrug was her response. "I dunno. My dad sealed it before he gave it to me. All he said was make sure Shorty and Kimmie get this."

Trin opened it and the sisters read through it. A frown slid onto Trin's pale face while Kim just lightheartedly chuckled. The frown did not seem very genuine, so Joss figured the message in the card was nice, but probably referred to Trin as "Shorty" through out the whole thing.

"Well, Joss, it seems your father has commanded us to show you a good time, so I feel obligated to do so," the blond declared, reaching out and putting a hand on Joss' bicep. The younger woman smiled from the contact.

"Come on, Joss, we're all in the living room. You get to meet Shego's parents. They're great! Her father is really funny… He actually reminds me of Ron a little bit. Her mother is a famous martial artist too," Kim informed her cousin, pulling the younger woman into the living room.

The rancher girl did not object, smiling all the way into the living room. There was a flurry of activity going on in there with everyone talking to someone…except for Tatsu, who was curled up in a corner. Joss was not surprised by that, but was not put off by it either. Tatsu was the first person she went to after she was introduced to those that did not know her.

"You still be all grumpy?" Joss asked the mechanic as she sat down next to the older woman.

"Not grumpy. Just…watching," Tatsu answered. She felt like she watched everyone and the way they acted, she would be able to figure out how she should act and then maybe, just maybe, she would join in.

"Just watching what? This ain't TV, you know," Joss pointed out with a grin.

Tatsu nodded and there was a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. "It helps, though," she informed the younger woman.

"Helps with what? You need to just jump on in. That's what Kim would do," Joss proclaimed.

"I know. I don't do that, though. I need to…just be sure…"

"There's nothing to be sure of, Tatsu. You should get up and talk to everybody. That's what a family get-together is all about. What do you need to be sure of anyway?" the teen asked curiously.

Tatsu's mouth curled up to the side and she scratched her cheek. "I just…wanna know how to talk to everybody…" she answered. Well, it was something like that, she figured. She was not _exactly_ certain what she needed to be sure of.

"You wanna know how to talk to everybody? You just go right into the conversation. Watch," Joss declared and she got up.

Joss dived right into the conversation that was taking place to show Tatsu how it was done. Turning around, Joss engaged Jim and Tim in some talking, going on about school and everything that teenagers talk about. She glanced over at Tatsu every now and then, trying to urge her into things. Tatsu remained where she was, watching Joss and everyone else that was in the room.

Kim had gone back to talking to Kane, but she noticed that Shego looked miserable. Excusing herself again, Kim pulled Shego away from the group, going to talk on the stairs. Shego went willingly, even though she continued to look displeased for some reason.

"Sweetheart, what's the problem?" Kim asked curiously, leaning her body into the older woman's to show sympathy and to coax an explanation out of her girlfriend. She was aware that Shego enjoyed getting sympathy, even over the smallest things.

"Trin and Shin are going to hammer me when we get back home after this," Shego admitted in a grumble, putting her arms around the petite redhead.

The answer caused Kim's brow to wrinkle. "Is that all? Baby, parents are off-limits with those two. You could act completely pathetic when it comes to your parents and those two won't say a word. Shin is total baby with his mother and you know how Trin is with our parents. You never make fun of her," the hero pointed out.

Shego sighed and shook her head. "Yeah…something about making fun of her about your parents just seemed…I dunno, wrong and hurtful."

A small smile graced Kim's face. "I'm glad you were somewhat considerate of my sister for once. Trust me, Shego, Trin and Shin won't use anything you do with your parents or what they say against you…except calling you Sheshona. Shin looked like his eyes were going to fall out when he heard that was your given name," she commented with a light laugh.

Emerald eyes stared down at Kim imploring her to be right about things. "You sure? The last thing I want is for your sister to go around calling me 'firefly' or some other bullshit. I don't mind Sheshona. I mean, I was called that name by damn near everyone that knew me for the first fifteen years of my life, so that's nothing."

"I promise, Shego. I'll tell Trin about the firefly thing because she might not consider nicknames off-limits. But, if she does call you that, just call her sunshine like you know you will anyway and move on," Kim stated.

"You make a point, Princess," Shego replied with a wicked grin spreading across her face like the Grinch who stole Christmas.

"Only call her that if she calls you firefly. She only lets our parents call her that and they only do it when they're trying to cheer her up now, so you can't go crazy with it," Kim warned, shaking her index finger at her trouble-making girlfriend.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Shego held up her hands in surrender before putting them back around Kim's waist. They stood there for a moment. "You like my dad?" she asked curiously.

"He's a great guy. He's also either prone to exaggeration or you were a very crazy kid," Kim answered with a playful smile.

"It could be a little of both," Shego said with a laugh.

The pair retreated back to the living room, finding that Trin and Anne were sitting in with everyone now too. Trin made herself comfortable against Tatsu, who was still sitting on the floor in the corner. Tashawna was close by, speaking with Trin and trying to get Tatsu to open up some.

"So, tell me about yourself. You treating my niece well?" Tashawna asked with a teasing smile.

"Trying…" Tatsu mumbled. Tashawna was already aware that Tatsu was a mumbler no matter whom she was talking to or what the answer was.

"That's good. Trin was telling me you're a mechanic," Tashawna said and Tatsu nodded, not offering anything else as a response. Tashawna chuckled a bit and then looked at the blond. "She's a bashful one still."

"She's still nervous around everybody," Trin replied, caressing Tatsu's arm with the hope that it would get her to calm down and try to be engaging, if only a little.

Tashawna pouted a bit. "Tatsu, when are you going to just accept that you're stuck with this crazy family? We're here to stay, so you might as well tell us a little more about yourself. I'd like to say I had one in-depth conversation with you once before I die, Tatsu."

"Sorry…" Tatsu scratched her head. "I'm not good at small talk."

"All you have to do is answer the questions I ask if you feel comfortable with it. You might even be able to ask me some if you're brave enough. Remember, I know a lot of embarrassing stories about Trin," Tashawna commented with a sly grin.

"I don't like the sound of that," Trin muttered, glancing away.

For a moment, tropical blue eyes drifted to Kim, noting the animated discussion she and Kane were still having. Isabel seemed to be in on it, but Kane and Kim were doing most of the moving. Trin wondered if she should move over there and just find out what they were talking about, if only to ignore her aunt telling Tatsu all of her crazy childhood tales. As she shifted her attention, she found out unsurprisingly that Shego's childhood was far from normal as well.

"So, eventually we found what happened was that Shona had somehow crawled into the dyer and was so small that she was buried underneath all of the clothes," Kane finished his explanation, his hands going along with his words.

"What he fails to tell you is that _he_ was supposed to be keeping an eye on her," Isabel added drolly, cutting her husband a mock glare.

"Seems like Shego had plenty of adventures before she could barely walk," Kim commented with a smile.

"I get the feeling you were the same way," Isabel said. Kim and Shego were a little too similar for Kim to have been a normal child.

"She was," James groaned and Anne just covered her face with her hand, shaking her head in a weary manner. Kim's mouth dropped open, incredulous that her parents would say such a thing about _her_.

"Oh, don't look like that. We could take our eyes off of you for one second and next thing you, you're diving off the roof," Anne said.

"We had to remove our pool from the backyard thanks to her and that one," James added in, pointing at Shin, so they knew who "that one" was. Shin, knowing he was being talked about, smiled big and proud, even though he doubted he was being complimented.

"Oh, she had help in the matter," Kane commented, throwing Shin a "thumbs' up" and getting plenty of disapproving headshakes at that one. The disapproval did not seem to faze Kane at all. "Sheshona had her big brother," he added with a happy smile.

"We should start touring the country and just tell families to never have more than two children," Isabel joked.

"Please, Bella, you baby our kids so much, you know you wouldn't know what to do with yourself if we only had two children," Kane teased, patting her thigh.

Isabel smiled softly. "He's right," she admitted.

"We wouldn't trade our four for the world either…no matter how many times they blow the garage up," Anne quipped and then she cast her husband a glance. "With their father's help."

"Oh, your one of those type of fathers too? Way to get in trouble," Kane grinned, moving to hit James on the back. The rocket scientist could only smile, even though he did try to contrite for just a second.

The crew continued to enjoy each other's company. Eventually, Shin, the twins, Kane, and Tatsu went back to playing video games. Tatsu was playing because she knew that Trin wanted her to interact with everyone and she knew that she had to. This was her family, Tatsu told herself. She needed to get comfortable with everyone.

"We need to play soccer!" Jim declared loudly, for no reason at all.

To the dismay of everyone else, someone broke out the motion control and all hell broke loose with all players diving all over the living room. Whoever was not playing the game eased out of the room to avoid serious injury. The doctors Possible hoped that the living room would survive.

Kim, Trin, Shego, and Joss vanished upstairs while the parents all made themselves comfortable in the kitchen. Anne started heating up the food, so that they would be able to eat dinner at a reasonable hour. They all came back together when the food was ready to be served.

It was clear that they would not all be able to fit at the table, so they decided on a picnic-like setting in the living room. The food and drinks were set out on the dining room table and everyone made their plates (or had a mate make it for them). Once everyone was loaded up on what they wanted, they settled into spaces and merry discourse continued on. As the Possible family experienced this, all they could do was smile, knowing that their family had grown again. Isabel and Kane knew this too and it only pleased them.

"Wow, Anne, you cook a hell of a meal," Kane commented, patting his belly. He could not believe he had eaten four servings, but damn it, it was so good! Isabel and Shego could believe he had eaten four servings; he was greedy.

"I second that!" Shinichiro said and then turned his attention to his wife. "You think you could roll me home?"

"I'll leave you here to sleep on the floor," Tashawna informed him, leaning against him.

"To hell with it," he decided and fell out. Tashawna yelped as she fell with him.

"I hope you all have room for dessert. There are pies and some cake," Anne informed everyone.

Even though most thought that they did not have room, they had dessert anyway. After that, it was silently decided to start filing out for the day. Anne made sure the Toriyamas left with food, even though they were coming back tomorrow to open gifts and have more food. She also made sure Isabel and Kane left with food and let them know when gifts would be open if they wanted to be at the house for that. They were also told what time dinner would be tomorrow—Christmas day.

With company gone and bellies full, everyone else decided to remain huddled in the living room. They watched the movie "A Christmas Story" twice before calling it a night. Anne showed Joss to a guestroom and also distracted James, so he would not notice Shego going to Kim's room or Tatsu going to Trin's room. Sure, he seemed fine with the arrangement, but she was sure it would be best if he did not have to see the couples going into the room.

"Joss, are you all right?" Anne asked, checking in on her niece once more before retiring for the night herself.

"I'm fine. Thanks for everything," Joss answered, crawling into bed now that she was in her pajamas.

"Thanks for coming, Joss. It means a lot to your cousins."

A smile worked its way onto Joss' face. "It means a lot to me too, Aunt Anne. You were really right about Trin. She's great and I'm happy she likes me. I really glad me and Kim are okay again too. And I forgot how much I love hanging out with Jim and Tim."

"We're happy to have you, Joss. Come by anytime and I'm sure you know you can go see the girls whenever you want too."

Joss nodded. "I know, but I just want to thank you because you're the one that talked some sense into me."

Anne smiled. "I like to think that you already had the sense. I just needed to remind you of that."

"I don't know about that, but I'm glad you talked to me. Now, you need to go talk to Tatsu because that girl is just about the most anti-social thing I ever did see," Joss commented, laughing a bit.

"Trust me, I am working on her. She's a little more delicate than you, though, so I have to be careful with what I do. Your uncle and cousins are helping out. We'll work her out of her shell soon enough," Anne promised.

"That's good. She makes Trin happy, so she needs to keep that up. I never would've guessed that Shego was the better girlfriend between the two of them," Joss remarked, earning a laugh from aunt.

"Not better, just a little more experienced. Don't worry about them. Kim and Trin have their girlfriends under control. Now, get some sleep because there are gifts down there with your name on them too, so we need you up and alert in the morning," Anne said.

"'Night."

"Good night."

-8-8-8-8-8-

Christmas morning found the Possible family (plus two) and the Toriyama family gathered in the Possible living room. James was passing out gifts for everyone to open. Joss was surprised to find there were some waiting for her, even though Anne told her last night that there would be presents for her. Apparently, almost everyone present had mailed her a gift, only for her father to forward them to James' house. Shego and Tatsu were surprised that they had gifts waiting too.

"Shego, your parents aren't coming?" Anne asked curiously.

"No, they probably won't show up until dinner. We actually don't celebrate Christmas," Shego replied, glancing away and there seemed to be a small, sheepish blush staining her cheeks.

"No?" James said with a perplexed expression. Of course, he was aware that there were plenty of people in the world that did not celebrate Christmas, but it was still always a shock to him when he met those people face to face. Christmas was such a great holiday for him that he wished he could share the joy with everyone.

"No, we don't really follow any religion and growing up my parents sort of spoiled us, so they didn't need a holiday to buy us a bunch of stuff," she explained with a shrug. She and her brothers never got the big deal about Christmas. Their parents never needed an excuse to buy them gifts nor did they need an excuse to have a family get-together. All either of those took was a word from Isabel.

There were nods and that was accepted. "I didn't celebrate Christmas either until I married this one," Shinichiro commented, motioning to his wife. "I didn't know until the moment I was freezing my ass off buying an overgrown pine tree that she was the one in charge!" he joked.

Tashawna smiled, a sly expression. "Trust me, he knew way before then," she remarked. Shinichiro wisely laughed and then embraced his wife around the waist.

Everyone turned their attention to their gifts. Shin was the first to show off as he discovered that his father gave him a new katana. He jumped up and immediately started moving with the sword, doing a series of katas.

"Shrew, you're going down the next time you draw that butter knife you call a sword on me!" Shin declared with a happy grin. They were not surprised when he did a little dance on his tiptoes and squealed with delight.

"Oh really?" Trin inquired as she held up her own new blade with a wonderfully pink scabbard protecting the polished metal.

Shin's face dropped instantly. "Poppa!" he whined, throwing his hands up in defeat. How the hell was he supposed to teach her a lesson if she got the same cool gift as he did!

"What? You know I'm not that creative at gift giving!" Shinichiro defended himself. Seriously, all of the fighters in their group got the same gift from him because he thought they would all like a new weapon. For the ladies, he got them all bracelets. For the twins and James, he got them models of space ships. He was just not that good when it came to buying gifts. He did pride himself on knowing what everyone was interested in, though.

"I think I'll put this one display in the living room, Uncle Shinichiro. This one is really nice," Kim said, running her thumb down the short sword that she received. It was not her first sword and she doubted it would be her last. She had them all in a case back at her apartment in the spare room.

"You got good taste, old man," Shego remarked, enjoying her own sword, which had a black blade. Shin's father might not be creative when it came to variety, but it was clear that he knew what he was doing in customizing the weapons.

"I hope you can use that because you're going to need it if you call me old man again," Shinichiro playfully threatened her, shaking his fist in her direction.

"There will be swordplay today!" Shin proclaimed, pointing to his weapon at Trin. The blond did not seem to notice, moving onto another gift. Kim chuckled as Shin pouted from being ignored.

Eventually, Shin gave up and went back to opening gifts like everyone else. The scene was controlled chaos, but eventually someone would open a gift that paused everyone. The first one was Tatsu, who opened up a jewelry box. It was too big to be a ring, but everyone did wonder what was inside.

"Wow…" Tatsu muttered as she freed a charm bracelet from box. Immediately, she turned to her lover. "It's so pretty…" The bracelet was platinum with jade charms on it, all shaped like different types of cars and motorcycles.

Trin smiled. "Not as pretty as you, baby," she replied. "Want me to put it on for you?"

"Yes, please," Tatsu answered, sounding almost childlike.

The blond continued smiling as she took the bracelet to put it on her beloved. She then turned her attention to Kim. "I guess all ladies do love jewelry," the elder sister said.

"I hope you're right," Kim replied, eyes trailing over to a small gift that was sitting at the top of her lover's pile of presents.

Shego eventually reached for and opened the curious gift that Kim had looked at for a moment. A small, black velvet box got everyone's attention because that one looked like it could hold a ring. Eyes went to Kim, who was too busy staring at Shego to notice that all eyes were on her. Shego noted the scrutiny and teased everyone by opening the box ever so slowly.

Shego gasped and dropped all pretense when she saw what was in the box. "Oh, my god, Princess, this is beautiful," she commented, pulling out a platinum necklace with an amethyst teardrop in the center of a platinum heart pendent.

There was almost a collective sigh of relief when everyone saw that it was chain and not another, more significant piece of jewelry. There seemed to be a silent consensus that Kim was not old enough to get married. She would have to finish school first and if she did not, Trin would blame Shego for it and they would have a problem.

Kim quickly connected the necklace and let it fall against Shego's neck. They both smiled as Shego lightly fingered the new piece of jewelry that she planned to never take off. Shego then found herself blushing as Kim's placed a gentle kiss to her lips in front of everyone. She never expected even a simple display like that in front of Kim's family! She was dumbstruck.

Nothing else was as dramatic as that moment. Once all of the gifts were open and the clean up was finished, James grabbed hold of Tatsu for a moment. He pulled her away from the group, going to speak privately by the stairs.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Tatsu asked, eyes focused on the floor.

"Several actually. One, I've told you time and time again to call me James. Two, you always act like I'm going to bite your head off when I want to talk to you. Three, you still haven't proposed to Trin!" His voice was low, but the excitement was there.

"Was I supposed to?" she inquired curiously, dragging her eyes up to meet his face ever so slowly.

"We were hoping. A Christmas proposal would be very romantic and you've been with for four years now," he pointed out.

"I know…" Blue eyes looked away and she bounced on her heels for a moment.

"I'm not trying to pressure you or anything, Tatsu. I want to help," he assured her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. To both of their surprise, it helped calm her down. She was able to maintain eye contact after that.

"I know. I really do know. I appreciate you and…Anne…trying to gimme the push in the right direction. I just can't now…" she mumbled, trying her head and looking a bit distressed.

"Why not?" he asked, concern laced in his tone and expression. "Anything I could assist you with?" he begged to know. He would do anything for her and he wished that she would believe that. "I'm here for you, Tatsu, just as much as I am for Trin, Kim, and Shego. I'm here, so is there anything I could assist you with?"

"No. It's just that right now I'm not in a good place to take care of Trin. I lose jobs so easily and I pretty much live off of her. I couldn't ask her for a commitment while she's pretty much supporting me in everything I do. Hell, if I bought her a ring now it would be with her money," Tatsu explained. Yes, she had savings from when she had her own garage, but she was using that money to pay whatever bills she could afford at the apartment. She would not be able to buy her beloved a decent ring until she had regular money flowing in.

James nodded; that was probably the most he had ever heard Tatsu speak at once to someone other than Trin. It only added to the distress that he could see creasing her forehead and putting worry lines under her eyes. He smiled a bit and patted her on the shoulder.

"You're a good person, Tatsu. I'm glad Trin found you," he said and his words surprisingly got a smile out of the mechanic. He hoped that meant he got through to her and she would start opening herself up more, be it to him or the rest of the family. He just wanted her to know that she belonged.

Eventually, dinnertime rolled around. Isabel and Kane returned to feast with the family. Ron also came by with Yori in tow. Yori practically fainted when she met Isabel, having been groomed to cheer the woman on when Isabel was defeating ninjas at Yori's school. Thanks to Shin and Trin, Yori had never figured out that she was supposed to dislike Isabel and ended up turning into quite the fan-girl.

Just as it had the night before, conversation flowed easily between everyone in the house. Ron fit right in, especially with Kane, while Yori needed a little coaxing. Amazingly enough, Joss was the one to try and bring Yori out of her shell. Joss basically just stood with Yori and talked her ear off until Yori started talking back.

"I'm proud of you, Joss," Kim said, whispering the words while standing next to Joss. Joss only smiled.

"Hey, everybody! We have a surprise outside for everyone!" Jim and Tim announced.

James and Anne looked at each other, feeling a familiar dread. They then looked at Trin and Shin, who both shrugged, as if they had no clue what was going on. Sighing, the doctors walked outside with everyone else and wondered if they should just put 911 on hold to see what surprise their boys had cooked up.

"Okay, everyone, this surprise is brought to you by us obviously, but wouldn't have been possible without the support—and money—of Shin, Trin, Tatsu, and Shego. Thank you guys for the best gifts!" the twins announced. Not a surprise in the least, the twins had a plethora of rockets lined up in the backyard.

"When did they even have time to put this together?" Kim wondered aloud.

"They dragged Tatsu out here while you were busy kicking Shin's ass in that snowboarding video game," Shego answered. Shin had gotten several new video games for Christmas had to play them all that day, dragging any and everyone to play with him.

The rockets were lined up on a scaffold that looked shockingly sturdy for something the twin's made, but then again, that was where Tatsu came in. Fuses were lit, the rockets blazed off into the air, and exploded in a delight of red and green lights. The sky was on fire with the words "Merry Christmas to all and peace on Earth!" The couples in the group all held each other as they stared at the enlightening marvel.

"It's beautiful…" Anne muttered.

"You're beautiful," James whispered to her. "Actually, our family is beautiful and this holiday was beautiful."

Everyone silently agreed with those sentiments. All eyes stayed on the fireworks before they began turning to each other, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and praying to be able to have another family gathering with all of them there. Because, as James said, it was beautiful.

-8-8-8-8-

The end.

I hope you were all happy to with short glimpse back into the Pariah universe. Hopefully there will be more to come from this universe. Happy Holidays and goodwill toward all!


End file.
